Victoria - a general history

Owners: 1898 Wilson & Furness Leyland Line, West Hartlepool: 1898 Atlantic Transport Co, West Hartlepool-renamed Manitou 1920-renamed Poland: 1925 A. Ardito & C. Beraldo, Genoa -renamed Natale

Masters: 1899-1906 EG Canons: 1907-11 WF Pollard: 1915-1918 John McMath OBE: 1920 WF Pollard.

Manitou was carrying 29th British Division contingent of 20 officers, 626 men & 615 horses. On passing Skyros Island she stopped for approaching torpedo boat which was thought to be British but was German, commanded Turkish torpedo boat (Demir Hissar). The order was given to abandon ship but the overloaded boats capsized. Two torpedoes that were fired at Manitou missed. The torpedo boat then went after the despatch-boat Osiriswhich escaped then returned to Manitou & fired another torpedo which also also missed. Demir Hissar was then chased by other warships, trapped & beached herself.

Manitou was torpedoed by Turkish boat (Demir Hissar) on 16 April 1915. 51 lives lost by drowning & exposure.

Lives lost April 1915: Blacklidge, John Duncan, purser, 31, b. Stoughton, resided Malden, Surrey; Cleverdon, Ernest John, ordinary seaman, 15, Tooley St. London; Hedley, John Haselden, 2^nd baker, 30, b. Australia; Huyghe, Robert, 3^rd mate, 26, Ostend, Belgium; James, Percy Edward, officer’s steward, 17, East Ham, London; McCreadie, Alexander, 3^rd engineer, 26, b. Glasgow; Thomson, D, able seaman, 45, b. Liverpool; Vincent, Harry, engineer’s steward, 19, East Ham, London; Willis, Thomas Arthur, gunner (Royal Field Artillery) b. Shrewsbury.

Further details: SS Manitou-Atlantic Transport Line Steamship.

Natale arrived for breaking at Genoa on 13 June 1925.

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